Lake View ....... ?

This is a special weekend....we are in Chicago for my nephew's wedding. Last night was the rehearsal dinner and it was such fun! Conversation, laughter, delicious meal and a host of touching/funny/loving toasts to the young couple.

We are lucky enough to be staying at my sister and brother-in-law's condo overlooking Lake Michigan for two nights. A real treat.

I woke up early this morning, wandered into the kitchen to find the coffee fixings and turned to enjoy the view. Hmmmmmm......heavy fog alert until later this morning. Oh well....I know it's out there. I'll just have to wait a bit.

Sunday with a Good Book…...

I've always loved to read - at least for as long as I can remember. The Park Ridge Library was a favorite haunt when I was growing up. School libraries too. Books made perfect gifts for birthday or Christmas. I loved getting lost in a book.

Books were friends when none of mine were around. Books provided escape when I needed to pretend to be elsewhere for awhile. Books offered comfort when I needed it.

I've read so many good books over the years that I can't even begin to count them. I wish, now, that I'd kept some kind of list with titles, authors and a few comments. But never mind - too late to start now. I've been known to re-read books (and not on purpose) going along, chapter after chapter, with an itch that says "this seems very familiar but I just can't quite remember what happens"…..so I continue on to the end.

We stopped for a quick visit with my sister and her husband on our way back from Indiana last week. (Stopping outside Chicago saves us from having to "push through" that last stretch where muscles are cramping and we just want OUT OF THE CAR. Plus it's always nice to spend time together.)

Before we left on Thursday morning Susan gave me a book. I finished it while sitting out in the yard this afternoon. I closed the cover with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I love when a book does that to me. When the characters pull you in….when the story won't let you go. When you just have to keep reading even though your "to-do-list" is waiting. When sentences or paragraphs make enough of an impression that you just have to re-read them.

I am going to pass this book on to a special friend - I think she will have a similar reaction…..and then she can pass it along to someone else.

Thank you Susan….I never would have discovered The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin without you. One reviewer's comment is as follows: "A wonderful, moving, endearing story of redemption and transformation that will sing in your heart for a very, very long time." I know its notes will sing in mine.

The novel takes place in a small bookstore on a small island off the coast of New England. The store's motto is "No Man is An Island; Every Book is A World".

I loved this world.

Missing Buffalo...

We visited Jackson Hole and Yellowstone for the first time in 2012 - taking our small RV on the road to explore some of the National Parks. After Yellowstone we hit Glacier and then circled back down through Oregon to Crater Lake. In 2013 we were back in Jackson Hole for a family reunion - really fun to share the wonderful area with our "kids" and their kids. After the get-together Dave and I continued back through South Dakota to Custer National Park and other stops along the way.

These western adventures provided my first opportunity to view buffalo in the wild…..not in a zoo….but on the plains, or walking through a campground, or moving down the road blocking traffic as they went. Each time I was fascinated - they are huge, impressive animals. They own the road if they feel like crossing - or walking right down the center line. Last summer we watched family groups take turns walking down to a pond for their evening drink - one group waiting patiently for another to finish. The huge bulls, the moms and their calves. Family groups. We watched a bull protect his mate from another big guy, we watched another rolling in the dust….we sat and just watched.

I really can't get enough of them. I imagine what it was like to see/hear hundreds….no thousands…..stampeding across the prairie. Thunder on the hoof. I imagine Native Americans hunting them and then using the meat, the hide, the bones - every part of this animal to support their families.

This year we are sticking closer to home - and it makes me sort of sad to think that I won't see buffalo. I want to go back - west - to open spaces - to see them in their natural habitat. I miss buffalo. Why is that? Why has this animal made such an impression on me? Don't know - but I will miss buffalo this summer.

Maybe next year.

Down on the Farm…..

We just spent a couple days at my cousin's farm down in Southern Indiana on the banks of the Ohio River. A complete change from Milwaukee's "city life". It's a long drive, but when we arrived we were met with warm hugs, snacks and a glass of wine….so it was worth it! Never mind that internet connection is very "tenuous" - being on the farm helps anyone "unplug" for awhile.

My cousin and her husband have a big spread including a huge vegetable garden, a small herd of cattle, flowers blooming everywhere, a pond with turtles and bullfrogs, birds racing to the bird feeders, two dogs roaming the property, a swimming pool heated by the sun, two big barns, a chicken coop with three hens busily laying eggs, a barn cat in charge of keeping the mice out of their motor home, trails to wander through the woods….all kinds of fun things to explore.

Or not - it's just fun to sit and talk, to watch the birds, to watch the dogs playing, to watch barges plying the Ohio River, to be together. The original plan was that Dave would be able to drive a tractor (a big boy toy!) and help Rob bring in the hay. But wet weather on-and-off made that impossible. So that meant more time to talk! I finished a quilt, Claudia worked on a painting and we talked….and laughed….and ate….and talked.

Fenway had a great time playing with their coon hound and their German shepherd - he loves to play with the BIG guys and show them who's boss. He fell in the pond, dug in the mud, barked at the bull in the field, explored on our two mile morning walks and just generally enjoyed dog heaven.

Thank you to two special people for sharing their spread with us. We love them both! And does this look like the face of a man who would "kick" my dog???? But then….that's another story! :-)

30 Year Friendships…..

Last weekend I went to a bridal shower in Chicago - my nephew is getting married later this month. It was such fun!

This party was at a cute little restaurant in a neighborhood west of down town Chicago - about 20 guests (including the bride-to-be and some of her attendants of course). The conversation and laughter flowed, the food was delicious and the bride received some very nice gifts. Her warm and enthusiastic response to each gift made the whole afternoon even more fun.

The shower was hosted by two of my sister's very best friends. At the end one of her friends, Bridget, gave a lovely toast. She thanked us all for coming, toasted the bride and then turned to my sister. I don't recall her exact words….but she was toasting Susan for 30 years of friendship. Their 30 year history of shared experiences, fun, support during difficult times and all the good times they'd spent together.

The toast brought tears to my eyes - but for a rather selfish reason. As I listened I felt "bad" realizing that I would never have this kind of experience and I "envied" my sister. We've moved so many times, always making good friends wherever we lived, but then leaving them behind and starting all over. The few friends who've known me for 30 years now live very far away. We talk on the phone sometimes, email and Facebook but very rarely get to see each other in person.

I have connections from New Hampshire to North Carolina, Florida to Alaska, Delaware to Wisconsin. And I value and love my friends - but I sure wish I could see them more often. I sure wish they lived close by. I sure wish my "Bridgets" were in the neighborhood.

It's Raining Pink…..

We have a beautiful flowering-something tree in our back yard. For about a week each spring it is magnificent….and then it's not. We enjoy the beauty while we can - and if we're lucky and the weather cooperates the pink blossoms even last a few days longer.

But then again, when it rains, or gets windy……the petals fall quickly. Covering the patio, the patio furniture and our neighbor's driveway and sprinkled throughout the lawn. So quickly gone.

But as my friend from Australia commented when we were together the other day, maybe, since spring flowers all come and go so quickly that's why we appreciate them even more. The tulips, the daffodils, the magnolia trees, the spring beauty…..here and then not here. A glimpse of color after a long grey/white winter. The color that demonstrates a change in seasons once again.

It rained pink in our yard the other day - but I'm not sweeping up the residue just yet. I plan to sit outside with a book and just glance down once in awhile to enjoy the color for a few days more.

His Name Is Andy…..

I'm not sure just how to put these thoughts on paper - and before I start, let me say that I am not using the older gentleman's real name in order to protect his privacy. But my encounter with him this evening made such an impression that I can't get it out of my mind.

Since we moved to Bay View about ten year ago I've seen Andy and a younger man walking together in our neighborhood. I got the feeling that it was father and son….slowly walking together so that the older man (somewhere in his 80's I'm sure) enjoy the day and get some exercise. We never spoke but I knew they lived somewhere nearby.

Tonight I was walking Fenway around the block after dinner. As I approached our yard I saw the older man at the corner across the street by the stop sign. He was just sort of walking back and forth a few steps and looking up and down the street. He was alone. I did not see his companion anywhere on the sidewalk. Something told me he was confused and I should pass our driveway, continue to the corner and just say hello.

He noticed me and crossed the street as I approached. When I smiled and said "Hello" he replied, "I'm not sure how to say this, but sometimes I get lost".  I asked if I could help in any way and all he could tell me was his street number - the address where he lived. So I assured him that we would walk together and we would find his way home.

I made small talk, he responded appropriately and we went down the block. He told me he lived next to Sid's Auto Repair - so I knew we were close. I told him it was a nice spring evening, a good time to go for a walk and he agreed. I told him my dog was lucky because now our walk was longer than we planned. I asked if he needed to take my arm for support and he said "No, I'm fine….not that holding your arm wouldn't be nice!" When we spotted his house, and it was the correct street number he stopped to give me a hug and thank me. His last words to me were "Don't tell my son!" I told him not to worry….that our walk together would be our secret. And I slowly walked back home…..glancing back over my shoulder to be sure he was able to open his door and go safely inside.

But I have to wonder - should I tell his son, leave a note or something. This time everything worked out just fine, but what about next time? What if he walks farther before realizing that he is "lost". What if no one stops to say "can I help"? How do I honor his desire for independence with perhaps a greater concern for his safety.

What would you do?